1912–13: Maiden titles

Lenglen (left) with usual doubles partner Elizabeth Ryan in 1914. They first played together in 1913.

Lenglen entered her first non-handicap singles event in July 1912 at the Compiègne Championships near her hometown, her only regular event of the year. She won her debut match in the quarterfinals before losing her semifinal to Jeanne Matthey. She also played in the singles and mixed doubles handicap events, winning both of them. When Lenglen returned to Nice in 1913, she entered a handicap doubles event in Monte Carlo with Elizabeth Ryan, an American who had moved to England a year earlier. Although they lost the final in three sets,^{[lower-alpha 4]} Ryan became Lenglen's most frequent doubles partner and the pair never lost another match. Lenglen's success at handicap events led her to enter more regular events in the rest of 1913. She debuted at the South of France Championships at the Nice Club in March, winning only one match. Nonetheless, when Lenglen returned to Compiègne, she won her first two regular singles titles, both within a few weeks of her 14th birthday. After losing to Matthey again at both of her events in July, the latter of which by default, Lenglen rebounded to win titles in her last two singles events of the year.^[18]

1914: World Hard Court champion

Lenglen at the 1914 World Hard Court Championships

Back on the Riviera in 1914, Lenglen focused on regular events. Her victory in singles against the high-ranking British player Ruth Winch was regarded as a huge surprise by the tennis community. However, Lenglen still struggled at larger tournaments early in the year, losing to Ryan in the quarterfinals at Monte Carlo and six-time Wimbledon champion Dorothea Lambert Chambers in the semifinals at the South of France Championships. In May, Lenglen was invited to enter the French Championships, which was restricted to French players. The format gave the defending champion a bye until the final match, known as the challenge round. In that match, they faced the winner of the All Comers' competition, a standard tournament bracket for the remaining players. Lenglen won the All Comers' singles draw of six players to make it to the challenge round against Marguerite Broquedis. Despite winning the first set, she lost the match. This was the last time in Lenglen's career she lost a completed singles match, and the only time she lost a singles final other than by default. Although she also lost the doubles challenge round at the tournament to Blanche and Suzanne Amblard, Lenglen won the mixed doubles title with Max Decugis as her partner.^[19][20]

Lenglen's performance at the French Championships set the stage for her debut at the World Hard Court Championships, one of the major tournaments recognised by the International Lawn Tennis Federation at the time.^[7] She won the singles final against Germaine Golding for her first major title. The only set she lost during the event was to Suzanne Amblard in the semifinals. Her volleying ability was instrumental in defeating Amblard, and her ability to outlast Golding in long rallies gave her the advantage in the final. Lenglen also won the doubles title with Ryan over the Amblard sisters without dropping a game in the final. She finished runner-up in mixed doubles to Ryan and Decugis. Following the World Hard Court Championships, Lenglen could have debuted at Wimbledon, but her father decided against it. He did not like her chances of defeating Lambert Chambers on grass, a surface on which she had never competed, given that she had already lost to her earlier in the year on clay.^[21][22]

World War I hiatus

After World War I began in August 1914, tournaments ceased, interfering with Lenglen's father's plan for her to enter Wimbledon in 1915. During the war, Lenglen's family lived at their home in Nice, an area less affected by the war than northern France. Although there were no tournaments, Lenglen had plenty of opportunity to train in Nice. Soldiers came to the Riviera to temporarily avoid the war, including leading tennis players such as two-time United States national champions R. Norris Williams and Clarence Griffin. These players competed in charity exhibitions primarily in Cannes to raise money for the French Red Cross. Lenglen participated and had the opportunity to play singles matches against male players.^[23][24]

1919: Classic Wimbledon final

Lenglen (near court) and Lambert Chambers contesting the 1919 Wimbledon final

Many tournaments resumed in 1919, following the end of World War I. Lenglen won nine singles titles in ten events, all four of her doubles events, and eight mixed doubles titles in ten events. She won the South of France Championships in March without dropping a game in any of her four matches.^[25] Although the French Championships and World Hard Court Championships did not return until the following year, Lenglen was able to debut at Wimbledon in July. She won the six-round All Comers' bracket, losing only six games in the first four rounds. Her biggest challenge in the All Comers' competition was her doubles partner Ryan, who saved match points and levelled the second set of their semifinal at five games, losing only after an hour-long rain delay.^[26][27] Although the 20-year-old Lenglen was considered a favourite against the 40-year-old Lambert Chambers in the challenge round, Lambert Chambers was able to trouble Lenglen with well-placed drop shots. Lenglen won the first set 10–8 after both players saved two set points. After saving two match points, Lenglen won the third set 9–7 for her first Wimbledon title. The match set the record for most games in a Wimbledon women's singles final with 44, since surpassed only by the 1970 final between Margaret Court and Billie Jean King. More than 8,000 people attended the match, well above the seating capacity of 3,500 on Centre Court. Lenglen defeated Lambert Chambers and Ethel Larcombe again in the doubles final with Ryan. She already lost to Ryan and Randolph Lycett in her mixed doubles quarterfinal, her only loss of the year in any discipline aside from defaults.^[28][29]

1920: Olympic champion

Lenglen at Cannes in 1920

Lenglen began 1920 with five singles titles on the Riviera, three of which she won in lopsided finals against Ryan. However, Ryan was able to defeat Lenglen in mixed doubles at Cannes in windy conditions, Lenglen's only mixed doubles loss of the year. Although the World Hard Court Championships returned in May, Lenglen withdrew due to illness. She recovered in time for the French Championships two weeks later and won the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles to complete a triple crown. Lenglen easily made it to the challenge round in singles, where she defeated Broquedis in a rematch of the 1914 final. She won the doubles event with Élisabeth d'Ayen and defended her mixed doubles title with Decugis, only needing to play the challenge round.^[30]

Lenglen's next event was Wimbledon. Lambert Chambers won the All Comers' final to set up a rematch of the previous year's final. Although the match was expected to be close again and began 2–2, Lenglen won ten of the last eleven games for her second consecutive Wimbledon singles title. She won the triple crown, taking the doubles with Ryan and the mixed doubles with Australian Gerald Patterson. The doubles final was also a rematch of the previous year's final against Lambert Chambers and Larcombe, and the mixed doubles victory came against defending champions Ryan and Lycett. Lenglen's decision to partner with Patterson led to the Fédération Française de Lawn Tennis (FFLT) threatening to not pay her expenses for the Wimbledon trip unless she partnered with a compatriot. Lenglen and her father replied by paying for the trip themselves. After Wimbledon, Lenglen won both of her events in Belgium in the lead-up to the Olympic Games in Antwerp. At the Olympics, Lenglen won two gold medals and one bronze medal for France. She won the singles title over British player Dorothy Holman, losing only four games in the entire event. She won mixed doubles with Decugis, overcoming an opening set loss in their quarterfinal. Lenglen partnered with d'Ayen again in the doubles event, losing their semifinal to Kathleen McKane and Winifred McNair in a tight match that ended 8–6 in the decisive third set. This match was Lenglen's only loss in doubles all year. Their opponents in the bronze medal match defaulted.^[31][32]

1921: Only singles defeat post-World War I

Lenglen walking off the court after retiring against Mallory

Lenglen again dominated the tournaments on the Riviera in 1921, winning eight titles in singles, six in doubles, and seven in mixed doubles. Her only loss came in mixed doubles. She won all of her matches against Ryan, four in singles and five in mixed doubles. All of Lenglen's doubles titles on the Riviera were with Ryan.^[33]

Lenglen defended her triple crown at the French Championships. Later that month, she returned to the World Hard Court Championships, where five-time United States national singles champion Molla Mallory was making her debut. The United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) sent Mallory and Bill Tilden to the tournament with the hope of drawing Lenglen over to compete in the United States. Although Lenglen defeated Mallory in the final in straight sets, she trailed 2–3 in the second set before winning the last four games. Lenglen won the triple crown at the tournament, partnering with Golding in doubles and Jacques Brugnon in mixed doubles. She then won her third consecutive Wimbledon titles in both singles and doubles, defeating her doubles partner Ryan in a lopsided singles final. She withdrew from the mixed doubles event after her partner suffered an ankle injury.^[34][35]

Lenglen planned to compete at the U.S. National Championships in August to prove she deserved to be called a world champion. Due to illness delaying her trip, however, she did not make it to New York until three days before her opening match and was still sick when she arrived.^[36][37] After Lenglen's opening round opponent defaulted, the tournament rescheduled her second round match against Mallory for that night to appease the large crowd that showed up to see Lenglen play. With more than 8,000 people in attendance, Mallory took a 2–0 lead in the first set before Lenglen began coughing in the third game. After losing the first set, Lenglen retired from the match two points into the second set for her only singles loss after World War I.^[38][39] She played only two more matches in the United States, both small exhibitions, before leaving in late September.^[40][41]

1922: Start of 179-match win streak

During the 1922 season, Lenglen did not lose a match in any discipline other than by default. She did not return to competitive tennis until March, six months after her loss to Mallory. Lenglen's first tournament back was the South of France Championships, where she won the doubles and mixed doubles titles. She did not play the singles event and did not play singles again until a month later at the Beausoleil Championships in Monte Carlo, where she won the title without dropping a game. This tournament began a 179-match win streak that Lenglen continued through the end of her amateur career.^[42][43]

In the middle of the year, Lenglen won triple crowns at the World Hard Court Championships, the French Championships, and Wimbledon. At the first, she saved two set points in her semifinal against McKane before winning the set 10–8. Needing to play only three challenge round matches at the French, Lenglen agreed to forgo the challenge round system at Wimbledon and be included in the main draw at the request of the tournament organisers. In the singles final, she faced Mallory in a rematch of their U.S. National Championship meeting. Like in the United States, Mallory won the first two games of the final. However, Lenglen rebounded and won the next twelve games for the title.^[44][45] The final remains the shortest in Wimbledon history, lasting only 26 minutes.^[46]

1923: Career-best 45 titles

Lenglen entered more events and won more titles in 1923 than any other year. She won all 16 of the singles events she entered, as well as 13 of 14 doubles events, and 16 of 18 mixed doubles events. Unlike previous years, she did not default a match in any discipline. At the beginning of the season, Mallory travelled to France to make her debut on the French Riviera circuit. Lenglen and Mallory had their last encounter at the South of France Championships, which Mallory entered after not performing well at her other two events on the Riviera. Lenglen defeated her without losing a game. At the same tournament, Lenglen's twelve-month win streak across all disciplines came to an end with a mixed doubles loss to Ryan and Lycett.^[47][48]

At what was to be the last edition of the World Hard Court Championships, Lenglen faced McKane in the final in each event, all three of which were held in the same afternoon. She defeated McKane in singles and mixed doubles, the latter of which was with Henri Cochet as her partner for the second consecutive year. With Ryan absent, however, Lenglen partnered with Golding and lost to the British team of McKane and Geraldine Beamish. At the French Championships, Lenglen defended her triple crown without losing a set in spite of the challenge round format being abandoned. She partnered with Brugnon in mixed doubles for the third straight year, and paired with Julie Vlasto for the first time in doubles. She faced the most adversity in the singles final when the crowd uncharacteristically booed her for trailing 0–4 to Golding in the second set.^[49][50] At Wimbledon, Lenglen won the singles and doubles titles with ease, never dropping more than three games in a set. In mixed doubles, however, she was defeated by Ryan and Lycett for the second time in the year. In September, Lenglen travelled outside of France and won titles in Belgium, Spain, and Portugal.^[51][52]

1924: No major titles

Although Lenglen did not lose a match in any discipline in 1924 except by default, she did not win a major tournament for the first time since 1913 aside from her hiatus due to World War I. Minor illnesses limited her to three singles events on the Riviera. Lenglen played doubles more regularly, winning eight titles in both doubles and mixed doubles.^[52][53] In April, Lenglen travelled to Spain to compete at the Barcelona International. Although she won all three events, she contracted jaundice soon after, preventing her from playing the French Championships. Although she had not fully recovered by Wimbledon, she entered the tournament and won her first three singles matches without dropping a game. In the next round, however, Ryan proved to be a more difficult opponent and took the second set from Lenglen 8–6, only the third set of singles Lenglen had lost since World War I. Although Lenglen narrowly won the match, she then withdrew from the tournament following the advice of her doctor. She did not play another event the rest of the year, and in particular missed the Olympic Games in Paris, where Helen Wills won the women's singles event.^[54][55]

1925: Open French champion

Lenglen won five mixed doubles titles at the French Championships with Jacques Brugnon, including the first two open to international players.

Lenglen returned to tennis at the Beau Site New Year Meeting in Cannes the first week of the year, winning in doubles with Ryan in her only event. She played singles at only two tournaments on the Riviera, including the South of France Championships. Her only loss during this part of the season was to Ryan and Umberto de Morpurgo at the Côte d'Azur Championships in Cannes. In May, Lenglen entered the French Championships, the inaugural edition open to international players. The tournament was played at St. Cloud at the site of the defunct World Hard Court Championships. Lenglen won the triple crown and was not challenged in singles or mixed doubles. She won the singles final over McKane, losing only three games. She won the mixed doubles final with Brugnon against her doubles partner Julie Vlasto and Cochet. Although Lenglen and Vlasto lost the second set of the doubles final 9–11 to McKane and Evelyn Colyer, they won the other two sets with ease for the title.^[56][57]

Lenglen followed her performance at the French Championships with another triple crown at Wimbledon. She played five singles matches and did not lose a game in the second set of any of them. The five games she dropped in total remain a record for fewest games lost in a singles title run in Wimbledon history. Her opponents included Ryan in her opening match, the defending champion McKane in the semifinals, and Joan Fry in the final. In mixed doubles, she partnered with Jean Borotra to defeat Ryan and de Morpurgo in the final. In doubles, Lenglen and Ryan played their last tournament together and won the title without dropping a set.^[58][59] During the last part of the year, Lenglen led France to a 7–4 victory in a tie against Australia, and defeated Australasian champion Daphne Akhurst in the final of the concurrent Deauville tournament. Later in the year, Lenglen won the doubles and mixed doubles events at the Cromer Covered Courts, the only time she played in England other than Wimbledon and her only indoor wood tournament.^[60]

1926: Match of the Century

Lenglen (left) and Helen Wills mistakenly shake hands near the end of the Match of the Century while an official's hand (far right) indicates the match is not over.

The 1926 season unexpectedly was Lenglen's last as an amateur. At the beginning of the season, three-time reigning U.S. national champion Helen Wills travelled to the French Riviera with the hope of playing a match against Lenglen. With Wills's level of stardom approaching that of Lenglen's, there was an immense amount of hype for a match between them to take place. They entered the same singles draw only once, at the Carlton Club in Cannes.^[61] When Lenglen and Wills both made the final with little opposition, the club doubled the number of seats around their main court and all three thousand seats plus standing room sold out. Spectators unable to get into the venue attempted to watch the match by climbing trees and ladders or by purchasing unofficial tickets for the windows and roofs of villas across the street.^[62] In what was called the Match of the Century, Lenglen defeated Wills in straight sets. The first match point became chaotic when a winner from Wills was called out by a spectator, leading everyone but the officials to believe the match was over. Photographers captured the moment as the players shook hands at the net and the crowd began flooding the court. After clarification that the shot had been in, Wills broke Lenglen to level the set.^[63][64] Despite Lenglen's winning, her reputation of being unbeatable was damaged by Wills's competitive performance.^[65]

While Wills remained in France, Lenglen avoided a rematch on the Riviera.^[66][67] After Wills's season was marred by an appendectomy during the French Championships, she withdrew from both Grand Slam tournaments in Europe and another match between her and Lenglen never took place. In Wills's absence, Lenglen defended all three of her titles at the French Championships with ease, defeating Mary Browne in the singles final. She again won the doubles with Vlasto and the mixed doubles with Brugnon.^[68][69]

United States tour (1926–27)

Lenglen (right) shaking hands with Mary Browne during the United States professional tour

A month after her withdrawal from Wimbledon, Lenglen signed a $50,000 contract (equivalent to about $830,000 in 2020) with American sports promoter C. C. Pyle to headline a four-month professional tour in the United States beginning in October 1926. She had begun discussing a professional contract with Pyle's associate William Pickens when he visited her on the Riviera in April.^[77][78] Lenglen had previously turned down an offer of 200,000 francs (equivalent to about $120,000 in 2020)^{[lower-alpha 5]} to turn professional in the United States following her last victory over Molla Mallory in 1923, declining in large part to keep her amateur status.^[80] She became less concerned with that, however, after the crowd turned against her at Wimbledon. She was more interested in keeping her social status, and was convinced by Pyle that turning professional would not hurt her stardom or damage her reputation.^[81] With Lenglen on the tour, Pyle attempted to recruit other top players, including Wills, McKane, and leading Americans Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston. Although they all declined, Pyle was able to sign Mary Browne as well as men's players Vincent Richards, Paul Féret, Howard Kinsey, and Harvey Snodgrass. Richards was regarded as the biggest star among the male players, having won gold medals in singles and doubles at the 1924 Olympics. Once the tour began, Lenglen and all of the other players lost their amateur status.^[82][83]

Although professional tennis tournaments already existed, the tour was the first travelling professional exhibition series in tennis history. It featured 40 stops, starting on 9 October 1926 and ending on 14 February 1927, and included several stops in Canada as well as one in Cuba. Lenglen dominated Browne on the tour, winning all 33 of the best-of-three-set matches played to completion. Browne did not win a set until the second set at the 33rd stop. The only other set she won was the only set they played at the 36th stop, where Lenglen had decided to play just a one-set match while ill to avoid disappointing the fans. Browne also nearly won a set at the 23rd stop, losing 9–11, at which point Lenglen decided not to continue.^{[lower-alpha 6][84][85]}

The tour was a financial success. Lenglen earned the most money, receiving half of the revenue from ticket sales and $100,000 in total, more than the $70,000 that Babe Ruth earned in 1927 as the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball.^[86][87] The average attendance was just over four thousand at the 34 venues where it was recorded. The most well-attended venues were opening night at Madison Square Garden in New York City with an attendance of thirteen thousand and the Public Auditorium in Cleveland with an attendance of ten thousand. Opening night in particular brought in $34,000 from tickets sold at $1.50 to $5.50 (equivalent to $25 to $91 in 2020).^[84][88]

British tour (1927)

A few months after the end of the United States tour, Lenglen signed with British promoter Charles Cochran to headline a shorter professional tour in the United Kingdom. Cochran recruited Dora Köring, the 1912 Olympic silver medalist in singles, and Dewhurst to play against Lenglen. Karel Koželuh and Kinsey were the male players on the tour. There were seven tour stops, all in July 1927. Lenglen won all seven of her singles matches, never losing more than five games in any of them. The last three stops were played on the grounds of association football clubs: Queen's Park in Glasgow, Blackpool, and Manchester United. These were the best attended events on the tour and the final match at Old Trafford had an attendance of over fifteen thousand, the highest between either professional tour.^[89][90]

Aftermath

Lenglen was widely criticised for her decision to turn professional. Once the tour began, the FFLT expelled her and Féret while the All England Lawn Tennis Club revoked her membership. Lenglen in turn criticised amateur tennis for her nearing poverty. In the program for the United States professional tour, she stated, "In the twelve years I have been champion I have earned literally millions of francs for tennis ... And in my whole lifetime I have not earned $5,000 – not one cent of that by my specialty, my life study – tennis ... I am twenty-seven and not wealthy – should I embark on any other career and leave the one for which I have what people call genius? Or should I smile at the prospect of actual poverty and continue to earn a fortune – for whom?"^[91][92] She criticised the barriers that typically prevented ordinary people from becoming tennis players, stating, "Under these absurd and antiquated amateur rulings, only a wealthy person can compete, and the fact of the matter is that only wealthy people do compete. Is that fair? Does it advance the sport?"^[91][93] Lenglen did not participate in any other professional tours after 1927. She never formally applied to be reinstated as an amateur with the FFLT either. She had asked about the possibility in 1932 after Féret was reinstated, but was told to wait another three years and decided against it.^[94]

Lenglen vs. Mallory

Molla Mallory (left) with Lenglen

Molla Mallory was the only player to defeat Lenglen in singles after World War I. Fifteen years older than Lenglen and originally from Norway, Mallory won a bronze medal at the 1912 Olympic Games before emigrating to the United States in 1914. While World War I halted tennis in Europe, Mallory established herself as the top-ranked American player, winning the first four U.S. National Championships she entered from 1915 through 1918. Whereas Lenglen regularly came to the net and had an all-court game built around control rather than power, the much older Mallory played almost exclusively from the baseline. The strengths of Mallory's game were that she took the ball early and had one of the most powerful forehands in women's tennis at the time. Mallory had a similar personality to Lenglen off the court. While they each hated losing, both of them smoked regularly and loved to dance.^[95] Lenglen faced Mallory just four times in singles, compiling a 3–1 record.^[96] She also won both of their doubles and mixed doubles encounters.^[97]

Their first two meetings were highlighted by Lenglen's health issues. In the final of the 1921 World Hard Court Championships, Lenglen nearly retired while struggling with blisters on her foot and trailing in the second set. Nonetheless, Lenglen proceeded to win by following her plan to play defensively and wait for Mallory to make unforced errors on attempted winners.^[35] In their second meeting at the 1921 U.S. National Championships, Mallory was able to take advantage of Lenglen's poor health, executing her usual strategy of going for winners to win the match. Although they had entered the doubles event as partners, Lenglen's health prevented them from playing any matches together at the tournament.^[98] Lenglen was able to easily win their last two meetings in 1922 and 1923 by playing more aggressively and employing Mallory's strategy of hitting well-placed winners from the baseline.^{[48][99][100]}

The press built the rivalry between Lenglen and Mallory. After Lenglen's retirement against Mallory at the U.S. National Championships, the vast majority of American newspapers criticised Lenglen for not finishing the match and accused her of retiring because she did not think she could win. They coined a phrase "cough and quit" that became popular at the time for describing someone who needed an excuse to avoid losing.^[101] After Lenglen's victory over Mallory at Wimbledon, the American press returned to supporting Lenglen. Both Lenglen and Mallory believed the newspapers exaggerated the personal nature of their rivalry. Mallory in particular said, "The newspapers are the dirtiest, filthiest things that ever happened. I don't want my name in the newspapers. I have a better chance on the courts than in the newspapers of my own country."^[45]

Lenglen and Ryan

Lenglen's usual doubles partner Elizabeth Ryan was also her most frequent opponent in singles. Born in the United States, Ryan travelled to England in 1912 to visit her sister before deciding to stay there permanently. Although she lost all four of her appearances in major finals, Ryan won 26 major titles between doubles and mixed doubles. The biggest strength of her game was volleying. Tennis writer Ted Tinling said, "volleying as a fundamental, aggressive technique was first injected into the women's game by Ryan."^[102] Lenglen and Ryan first partnered together at a handicap event in Monte Carlo in 1913 when they were 13 and 20 years old respectively. After losing the final at that tournament, the two of them never lost a regular doubles match, only once dropping a set in 1923 to Dorothea Lambert Chambers and Kathleen McKane, again at Monte Carlo. Ryan was Lenglen's doubles partner for 40 of her 74 doubles titles, including all six at Wimbledon and two of three at the World Hard Court Championships.^[103]

Ryan defeated Lenglen in their first singles meeting in straight sets at Monte Carlo in 1914 and also won a set in their second meeting two months later. Following their first encounter, Lenglen won all 17 of their remaining matches, including five at Wimbledon and two major finals. The only time Ryan won a set against Lenglen after World War I was in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 1924, where Lenglen withdrew due to illness in the following round. When the FFLT asked Lenglen to take a French partner in doubles at Wimbledon in 1926, Ryan partnered with Mary Browne to defeat Lenglen and her new partner Julie Vlasto, coming from three match points down in the second set. Ryan also won their only other doubles meeting in 1914. In mixed doubles, Lenglen compiled a 23–9 record against Ryan. Half of her career mixed doubles losses were to Ryan.^[4] After losing their first six encounters, she recovered to win the next thirteen. Lenglen won her first mixed doubles match against Ryan at the 1920 Beaulieu tournament, starting a win streak that ended with a loss to Ryan and Lycett at the 1923 South of France Championships.^[104]

Overlap with Wills

Helen Wills was the closest to becoming Lenglen's counterpart. Wills finished her career with 19 Grand Slam singles titles, a record that stood until 1970. She succeeded Lenglen as world No. 1 in 1927 and kept that ranking for the next six years and nine of the next twelve overall until 1938.^[105] Late in Lenglen's amateur career, Wills had built a similar level of stardom to Lenglen by winning the 1924 Olympic gold medal in singles in Lenglen's absence while still only 18 years old. Although their careers overlapped when Wills visited Europe in 1924 and 1926, Lenglen faced Wills only once in her career. Lenglen withdrew from Wimbledon and the Olympics due to jaundice in 1924, and Wills withdrew from the French Championships and Wimbledon in 1926 due to appendicitis, preventing a longer rivalry between tennis's two biggest female stars of the 1920s from emerging.^[106][107]

Achievements

Lenglen was ranked as the 24th greatest player in history in the 100 Greatest of All Time television series. She was the ninth-highest ranked woman overall, and the highest-ranked woman to play exclusively in the amateur era.^[121] After formal annual women's tennis rankings began to be published by tennis journalist and player A. Wallis Myers in 1921, Lenglen was No. 1 in the world in each of the first six editions of the rankings through her retirement from amateur tennis in 1926.^[122] She won a total of 250 titles consisting of 83 in singles, 74 in doubles, and 93 in mixed doubles.^[123] Nine of her singles titles were won without losing a game.^[124] Lenglen compiled win percentages of 97.9% in singles and 96.9% across all disciplines. After World War I, she won 287 of 288 singles matches, starting with a 108-match win streak and ending with a 179-match win streak,^[4] the latter of which was longer than Helen Wills's longest win streak of 161 matches.^[125] Lenglen ended her career on a 250-match win streak on clay.^[4]

Lenglen's eight Grand Slam women's singles titles are tied for the tenth-most all-time, and tied for fourth in the amateur era behind only Maureen Connolly's nine, Court's thirteen, and Wills's nineteen.^[126] Aside from the 1919 Wimbledon Championships, Lenglen did not lose more than three games in a set in any of her other Grand Slam or World Hard Court Championship singles finals.^[4] Lenglen's six Wimbledon titles are tied for the sixth-most in history.^[126] Her former record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles has since been matched only by Martina Navratilova, who won her sixth in a row in 1987.^[127] Lenglen's title at the 1914 World Hard Court Championships made her the youngest major champion in tennis history at 15 years and 16 days old, nearly a year ahead of the next two youngest, Martina Hingis and Lottie Dod.^{[lower-alpha 7][93][128]}

Lenglen won a total of 17 titles at Wimbledon, 19 at the French Championships, and 10 at the World Hard Court Championships across all disciplines. Lenglen completed three Wimbledon triple crowns – winning the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles events at a tournament in the same year – in 1920, 1922, and 1925. She also won two triple crowns at the World Hard Court Championships in 1921 and 1922, and six at the French Championships, the first four of which came consecutively from 1920 through 1923 when the tournament was invitation-only to French nationals and the last two of which came in 1925 and 1926 when the tournament was open to internationals.^[124]

Mythical persona

Following World War I, Lenglen became a symbol of national pride in France in a country looking to recover from the war.^[15] The French press referred to Lenglen as notre Suzanne (our Suzanne) to characterise her status as a national heroine; and more eminently as La Divine (The Goddess) to assert her unassailability. The press wrote about Lenglen as if she were infallible at tennis, often attributing any performance that was relatively poor by her standards to various excuses such as the fault of her doubles partner or to having concern over the health of her father. Journalists who criticised Lenglen were condemned and refuted by the rest of the press.^[129] At the Olympics, she introduced herself to journalists as "The Great Lenglen", a title that was well received.^[130] Before matches, Lenglen would predict to the press that she was going to win, a practice that Americans treated as improper. She explained, "When I am asked a question I endeavour to give a frank answer. If I know I am going to win, what harm is there in saying so?"^[131]

Lenglen was the first female athlete to be acknowledged as a celebrity outside of her sport.^[2][132] She was acquainted with members of royal families such as King Gustav V of Sweden, and actresses such as Mary Pickford. She was well known by the general public, and her matches were well-attended by people not otherwise interested in tennis.^[2][132] Many of her biggest matches were sold out, including the 1919 Wimbledon final against Lambert Chambers, where the attendance more than doubled the seating capacity of Centre Court, and her first match against Mallory, where tickets were sold at a cost of up to 500 francs (about $300 in 2020)^{[lower-alpha 5]} and an estimated five thousand people could not gain entry to see the match after it had sold out.^[133] The popularity of Lenglen's matches at Wimbledon was a large factor in the club moving the tournament from Worple Road to its modern site at Church Road. A new Centre Court opened in 1922 with a seating capacity of nearly ten thousand, nearly three times larger than that at the old venue.^[46][134] At the Match of the Century against Wills, seated tickets that were sold out at 300 francs, then equivalent to about $11 in the United States (or $180 in 2020), were re-sold by scalpers at up to 1200 francs, which was then about $44 (or $730 in 2020).^[135] This cost far exceeded that for the men's singles final at the U.S. National Championships at the time, which were sold at as low as $2 per seat (about $30 in 2020).^[136]

Lenglen's mythical reputation began at a young age. She was known for a story about her father training her to improve her shot precision as a child by placing a handkerchief at different locations on the court and instructing her to hit it as a target. She was said to be able to hit the handkerchief with ease regardless of the type of incoming shot. Each time she did, he would fold it in half before replacing it with a coin. It was said that Lenglen could hit the coin up to five times in a row.^[137]

Professional tennis

Lenglen was the first leading tennis player to leave amateur tennis to play professionally, thereby launching playing tennis as a professional career.^[138][139] The exhibition tour she headlined in the United States from 1926 to 1927 in which a few players travelled together to compete against each other across a series of venues was the first of its kind. It established a format that was repeated over twenty times for the next four decades until the start of the Open Era. With Pyle interested in tennis only because of Lenglen, Vincent Richards, the leading male player on Lenglen's United States tour, organised the next such tour featuring himself competing against Karel Koželuh in 1928. He also began organising the first major professional tournaments to feature players who had been top amateurs, beginning with the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships first held later in 1927.^[140][141]

As the top women's players nearly all kept their amateur status, women were largely left out of both the travelling exhibition tours and the growing professional tournaments after Lenglen's playing career ended.^[139] The next significant exhibition tour to feature women's tennis players did not occur until 1941 when Alice Marble became one of the headliners on a tour that also featured leading male players Don Budge and Bill Tilden.^[142] Fellow top-ranked players Pauline Betz and Althea Gibson followed Marble by turning professional in 1947 and 1958 respectively. Betz played on two tours, one in 1947 and another from 1950 to 1951.^[143] Gibson played in a series of warmup matches for the Harlem Globetrotters, an exhibition basketball team in the United States.^[139][144]

Women's sportswear

Lenglen wearing her signature bandeau and distinctive large coat

Lenglen redefined traditional women's tennis attire early in her career. By the 1919 Wimbledon final, she avoided donning a corset in favour of a short-sleeved blouse and calf-length pleated skirt to go along with a distinctive circular-brimmed bonnet, a stark contrast with her much older opponent Dorothea Lambert Chambers who wore long sleeves and a plain skirt below the calf.^{[27][145][146]}

The following year, Lenglen ended the norm of women competing in clothes not suited for playing tennis. She had Jean Patou design her outfits that were not only intended to be stylish, but allowed her to perform her signature leaping ballet motion in points and did not restrict her movement on the court. This type of attire was among the earliest women's sportswear. Unusual for the time, her blouse was sleeveless and her skirt extended only to her knees. Lenglen replaced the bonnet with a bandeau, which became known as the "Lenglen bandeau" and was her signature piece of attire throughout the rest of her career.^[147] On the court, she routinely wore makeup and popularised having tanned skin instead of a pale complexion that other players had preferred before her time. Later in her career, she moved away from just wearing white in favour of brighter-coloured outfits. Overall, she pioneered the idea of players using the tennis court to showcase fashion instead of just competing. Off the court, Lenglen frequently wore an oversized and expensive fur coat.^{[145][148][149]}

Honours

Lenglen is honoured in a variety of ways at the French Open. At Stade Roland Garros, Court Suzanne Lenglen – the second show court that was built in 1994 with a capacity of about ten thousand – was named after her in 1997.^[150][151] Outside the court, there is a bronze relief statue of Lenglen that was erected in 1994. The FFLT had originally planned to erect a statue of Lenglen immediately after her death, but this plan never materialised due to the start of World War II later that year. Additionally, one of the main entrances to the ground is Porte Suzanne Lenglen, which leads to Allée Suzanne Lenglen. Moreover, the women's singles championship trophy was named the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in 1987. In spite of her success at the French Championships, Lenglen never competed at Stade Roland Garros as it did not become the site for the tournament until 1928, after her retirement from amateur tennis.^[151]

Lenglen was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978.^[108] Following her death, she was awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honour. Another road, the Avenue Suzanne Lenglen, is named in her honour outside of the Nice Lawn Tennis Club.^[151] She has been honoured in a Google Doodle twice, once on her 117th birthday on 24 May 2016, and again on International Women's Day on 8 March 2017.^[152][153]

Performance timelines

Results from the French Championships before 1924 do not count towards the statistical totals because the tournament was not yet open to international players.

Major finals

Grand Slam singles: 8 (8 titles)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1919	Wimbledon	Grass	Dorothea Lambert Chambers	10–8, 4–6, 9–7
Win	1920	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Dorothea Lambert Chambers	6–3, 6–0
Win	1921	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Elizabeth Ryan	6–2, 6–0
Win	1922	Wimbledon (4)	Grass	Molla Mallory	6–2, 6–0
Win	1923	Wimbledon (5)	Grass	Kathleen McKane	6–2, 6–2
Win	1925	French Championships	Clay	Kathleen McKane	6–1, 6–2
Win	1925	Wimbledon (6)	Grass	Joan Fry	6–2, 6–0
Win	1926	French Championships (2)	Clay	Mary Browne	6–1, 6–0

World Championship singles: 4 (4 titles)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1914	World Hard Court Championships	Clay	Germaine Golding	6–3, 6–2
Win	1921	World Hard Court Championships (2)	Clay	Molla Mallory	6–2, 6–3
Win	1922	World Hard Court Championships (3)	Clay	Elizabeth Ryan	6–3, 6–2
Win	1923	World Hard Court Championships (4)	Clay	Kathleen McKane	6–2, 6–3

Source: ^[4]

Olympic medal matches

Singles: 1 (1 gold medal)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Gold	1920	Antwerp Olympics	Grass	Dorothy Holman	6–3, 6–0

Source: ^[4]

Books

• Barrett, John (1980). World of Tennis 1980. London: Queen Anne Press. ISBN 978-0362020120.
• Cherry, Jeanne (2018). Helen Wills: Tennis, Art, Life. London: Tennis Gallery Wimbledon. ISBN 978-1999953119.
• Collins, Bud (1994). Bud Collins' Modern Encyclopedia of Tennis. Detroit: Gale Research. ISBN 978-0810389885.
• Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New York: New Chapter Press. ISBN 978-0942257410.
• Engelmann, Larry (1988). The Goddess and the American Girl: The Story of Suzanne Lenglen and Helen Wills. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195043631.
• Gray, Frances Clayton; Lamb, Yanick Rice (2004). Born to Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0471471653.
• Jacobs, Helen Hull (1949). Gallery of Champions. New York: A.S. Barnes. ISBN 978-0836980431.
• King, Billie Jean; Starr, Cynthia (1988). We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Women's Tennis. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0070346253.
• Lenglen, Suzanne (1920). Lawn Tennis for Girls. New York: American Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-0469069497.
• Little, Alan (2007). Suzanne Lenglen: Tennis Idol of the Twenties. London: The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. ISBN 978-0906741436.
• Robertson, Max (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis: 100 years of Great Players and Events. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 978-0670294084.
• Wagg, Stephen (2011). Myths and Milestones in the History of Sport. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0230241251.